


Between the Lines

by kereia



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F, Hostage Situations, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-08-28 06:22:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16718027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kereia/pseuds/kereia
Summary: When Princess Leia Organa, heir to the throne of Alderaan, is taken hostage by Lord Snoke in the borderlands of the neighboring kingdom, her parents ask their most trusted general to rescue her.General Holdo, on the other hand, is fairly sure that Leia doesn't need rescuing. In fact Lord Snoke would probably beg her parents to take her back after less than a fortnight, even if Leia hadn't written a letter stating that she'd already made other plans.





	Between the Lines

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JumpingJill](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JumpingJill/gifts).



Amilyn parried the sword stroke that the youngest knight of the Tico clan aimed at her and forced Rose to take a step back.

"You need to watch your feet," she admonished gently, as Rose stumbled for a moment before regaining her balance.

"Footwork is the most important thing to keep in mind during a sword fight. Lose your balance..." she stepped forward holding her training sword close to her body before swinging it upward to cut the blunted tip across Rose's leather-clad chest, “...and you lose the fight."

Rose grunted and pressed a hand against her protective vest. If the blade had been sharp, it would have been a killing blow. "Yes, General," she panted. "I will do better next time."

Amilyn clapped a hand to her shoulder. "I know you will. You've come a long way since you decided to join us."

Rose practically glowed at the praise. "Do you really think so?"

Amilyn smiled down at her, but before she could respond, a page burst into the training grounds behind the castle and dashed towards them. A panicked expression on her face, the young girl skidded to a stop in front of them, gravel scattering around her boots.

"General Holdo, your presence is required in the throne room," she said, the words tumbling over each other in her haste to get them out. "Princess Leia has been taken hostage."

 

* * *

 

Upon entering the throne room, Amilyn swiftly traversed the deserted colonnade and turned sharply to the left in front of the dais that held the throne. Following the sound of agitated voices, she opened the narrow side door to the small dining room that Queen Breha and King Bail used for meetings pertaining to matters of trade and war.

The queen of Alderaan sat at the head of the table, a pensive expression on her face. "There must be more to it than that," she said as Amilyn stepped into the room. She acknowledged the general's entrance with a small nod before addressing her husband. "Leia hardly sounds like herself."

"That's because they're probably torturing her," Bail exclaimed. He was pacing along the generous window front, the afternoon sunlight highlighting the deep lines of worry on his face.

He brandished a piece of paper in his hand. "I wouldn't be at all surprised if they forced her to write this. I should never have agreed to let her visit the border villages with such a small escort. I knew Lord Snoke couldn't be trusted."

He looked down at the paper and clenched his hand around it. "Mistaking her for a spy! My own daughter! Preposterous!"

The queen rose and placed a calming hand on her husband's shoulder. "Bail, why don't we let General Holdo look at that letter? Maybe she can make more sense of it."

"I would like to hear the contents of it as well," a new voice drifted to them. It came from the grand balcony that spanned the courtyard between the main buildings of the keep.

Holdo turned to see Leia's brother descend the last few steps of the winding stair that led to the turret where he practiced his alchemy. Stepping through the open archway, Prince Luke's cloak billowed in a sudden gust of wind.

Amilyn frowned. She'd spent all morning in the sweltering training grounds, and there hadn't even been a hint of a breeze anywhere to be found. As she watched, the cloak fluttered again, almost jerking Luke backwards with the force of the air caught in the fabric.

The leaves of the rosebush clinging to both sides of the archway remained completely unruffled.

Chocking as the fastenings tightened around his neck, Luke clenched his hands in the fabric and pulled it roughly back around his body. He looked frazzled.

"What on earth is going on with you?" Bail exclaimed.

"It's this damn wind spell I've been working on," Luke said with an impatient air. "It just won't work the way I want it to."

"Then make it stop. Your sister's life is in danger."

Luke had the grace to look sheepish. "Believe me, I tried. It just won't quit. I'm at my wit's end. It won't even let me take off the cloak." As if to underscore his words, the gray fabric moved again, appearing for all the world as if it was trying to escape Luke's iron hold.

"Is the spell anchored to your cloak?" Amilyn asked.

Luke nodded. "Yes. I didn't want to let it roam free in case it didn't... well, in case it turned out a bit more temperamental than I intended."

"Luke," Bail began, his tone making it all too clear that his patience had run out. "If you do not get that damn cloak under control–"

Before the could finish the sentence, Amilyn had pulled her sword from its scabbard, wrenched the hem of the cloak as far away from Luke's body as she could, and cut it off him in one swift stroke. Luke made a sound which sounded suspiciously like outrage, but Amilyn ignored him.

The cloak flapped wildly in her grasp as she carried it over to one of the wooden chest in which the kingdom's maps were stored. Catching on to what she was doing, Luke darted forward, and in spite of his dismay at her method, he quickly upended the chest, dumping the rolled up parchments onto the table. Amilyn stuffed the cloak into the now empty box, and Luke quickly slammed the lid down.

His blue gaze darted mournfully from the chest to Amilyn.

"That was my favorite cloak. Must you always solve every problem with a blade?"

Though they had been friends for nearly a decade, Amilyn gave him her most cheerful smile – the one she usually reserved for meeting enemies in battle. It was all teeth.

His eyes wide, Luke leaned away from her.

"It usually gets the job done, your highness," she said mildly.

Luke sighed in defeat. "I suppose it does."

"Speaking of getting a job done," Queen Breha interrupted them, "we need you to plan and execute a rescue mission. Leia's letter arrived with a missive from Lord Snoke, and his demands for her release are, quite frankly, impossible."

"Which he very well knows," King Bail growled.

Luke and Amilyn exchanged a loaded look, before the prince addressed his parents.

"May we see the letter?" he asked.

The king halfheartedly smoothed the crumbled pages. "I will read it to you."

He cleared his throat. "My dearest parents," he read, "I'm afraid that instead of reporting on the devastating drought that has befallen the towns up in the north, I must inform you of even more ill tidings and apologize to you, for it was my own foolishness that brought them about. You see, while I was visiting the small hamlet of Tatooine on our northern border, I decided to take a walk in the fields. You know how much my delicate constitution suffers after a long day in the saddle..."

He broke off and looked at them. "What was that?"

"Sire?" Holdo asked innocently.

"You made a noise, General."

"Did I?"

The king's eyes narrowed. "It sounded like a snort."

"I'm sure you're mistaken, Your Majesty. I merely cleared my throat."

Bail's gaze lingered on her with evident suspicion, but after a moment he returned his attention to Leia's letter.

"...and I was certain an hour away from the bustle of the farmsteads would sooth my poor nerves."

A small sound echoed in the vaulted ceiling. It cut off abruptly.

The king's gaze snapped back up. Only this time it was aimed squarely at Luke.

"Is there a particular reason for that huff?"

"Of course not, father. Like the general, I have a very dry throat. I think I should have a drink, so as not to interrupt you further." Without waiting for a reply, Luke stepped over to the side board and filled a goblet from the carafe of Corellian wine.

The king grumbled something too low for Amilyn to make out but continued reading the letter.

"I can't really explain how it happened, but I must have been too distracted by the beauty of the surrounding mountains to see the boarder markers by the stream. I swear to you, I only intended to bathe my feet for a moment. The day had been so very hot, and my only thoughts were of finding relief from the burning heat of this infernal summer that's been baring down on us for the past few months.

“As I was enjoying my refreshment, I found myself suddenly captured by a company of Lord Snoke's knights, who had apparently been informed that a spy would try to enter King Palpatine's kingdom in this very area. Of course, I immediately assured him that I was no such spy, and apologized for my inadvertence, but the knights insisted that I accompany them to Lord Snoke's stronghold.

“I reluctantly agreed, as you know how mindful I always strive to be not to cause any diplomatic misunderstandings."

The king stopped as another noise overshadowed his voice. This time he glared at his wife.

Unlike Amilyn and Luke, Queen Breha made no attempt to cover up her amusement. "Oh, come now. Does this even remotely sound like our daughter? Who 'accidentally' stabbed Lord Hux with a fork when he insisted she dance with him? Who led Queen Ventress's dogs on a merry chase into the wilderness after she rescued the fox her party had been trying to hunt, and who, by the end of our visit, had those same dogs so enchanted with her, that they followed her onto our ship, and the Queen had no choice but to make a gift of them?"

"She is sitting in a dungeon in Snoke's keep," the king exclaimed. "She'll hardly be thinking about some silly pranks she played more than a decade ago."

It was hard to tell, but Amilyn was almost sure that the queen was restraining herself from rolling her eyes. Having known Leia for more than half her life, Amilyn could relate.

"Oh Bail, don't be so dramatic. She's not being held in the dungeon. She says Lord Snoke provided her with chambers befitting her station and that his manner has been nothing but courteous. He even allowed her to play with his pets to help her with her ill spirits."

"Ill spirits?" Amilyn asked.

The queen snatched the letter out of her husband's grasp.

"Though Lord Snoke has done everything to ensure my comfort, I've been beset by the most wretched symptoms of anxiety, such as I have not suffered since I was a child. I find myself short of breath and perspiring profusely whenever I am left confined to my chambers for too long. The handmaiden that has been so generously seeing to my needs found me in a dead faint in my bedchamber not two days after my arrival. I believe I scared her quite badly.

“In an effort to alleviate my suffering, Lord Snoke has graciously allowed me to walk around the grounds, even taking care to assign one of his personal guards for my protection. She is a charming young woman, who is also entrusted with the care of his Lordship's pets. We have spent many hours playing with them, and cuddling with the fledglings seems to be the only way to take my mind off this hideous ailment.

“Nevertheless, I would be grateful if you could ask my brother to provide me with a few herbs so I may prepare a soothing tea for my health. He has done so many times before..."

"No I haven't," Luke interrupted with a frown.

"... but just in case he's on one of his travels again, I have taken the liberty of noting down the recipe. As you can see, many of the herbs required are native to Alderaan and impossible to come by so far in the north.

“Lord Snoke has approved this small concession, as I must stay with him, until King Palpatine has been informed of my transgression. I am told he will send a messenger with outmost haste to his Majesty as well as to you, so this unfortunate misunderstanding can be settled with as little inconvenience to all of us as possible."

King Bail balled his hands into fist. "As little inconvenience as possible," he snarled. "He wants one hundred thousand acres of farm land in exchange for her safe return, and I bet you anything that he wouldn't be so bold if he didn't have King Palpatine's support in this matter."

Amilyn moistened her dry lips. "Your Majesty, may I translate that letter for you?"

The king looked at her askance. "The letter is written in the common tongue, General. It hardly needs translating."

"With all due respect, Sire, it was written by your daughter."

The king fell silent at this, but the queen regarded Amilyn with a smile that was far too knowing for Amilyn's taste. Hoping that her body would not betray her by doing something as unacceptably foolish as blushing, she took the letter that Queen Breha offered her, and let her eyes fly over the elegant cursive script.

"Your Majesties, I believe the princess planned to get taken by Lord Snoke's knights from the beginning, possibly before she even left the castle."

The king threw up his hands. "That's ridiculous."

"No, Sire. The 'delicate constitution?' Her 'poor nerves?' Your Majesties, Leia is an experienced rider–"

"And she's healthy as an ox," Luke chimed in. "Nerves of steal, that one. Which is why you chose her to succeed you, instead of me. Not that I'm complaining."

"She deliberately crossed that border, and she spread rumors of a spy to make sure that Lord Snoke's knights would be there to see her."

Queen Breha sat down heavily in her chair. For the first time, she looked more worried than puzzled. "But why?" she asked.

"To find out why our crops in the north have been wilting, and why we need to ration food this winter to ensure that we'll make it to spring."

"But the drought..." Bail began.

"The drought was of natural and not magical origin. I checked," Luke interjected. "I would have noticed if someone worked enough magic to influence the weather."

"But the forest fires that leveled not only the woods but also the fields? What about them? Lei– the princess and I have long speculated that the fires had been set deliberately."

"Is that why she talked about the 'burning heat' and 'scorching summer?'" Queen Breha asked pensively.

Amilyn nodded. "I believe so."

King Bail ran a hand in agitation through his salt and pepper hair. "How on earth would Snoke be able to let his men infiltrate our lands and repeatedly set fires in multiple locations without anyone ever being seen?"

"The pets, Sire. Lord Snoke's pets set the fire."

The king looked at her as if he couldn't quite believe that she was serious. "His pets," he repeated.

"Dragons, Sire. They are almost impossible to see against the night sky, and most of the fires were discovered in the early hours of morning."

"The pets that my daughter is cuddling with?" he said in disbelief.

"Yes, Sire," Holdo answered while she studiously ignored the excited grin that spread across Luke's face.

"You are telling me, that you not only believe that Lord Snoke has succeeded in brokering an alliance with the dragons, but that my daughter is– is _cuddling_ with several tons of fire breathing, venom spitting, sharp scaled flying monstrosities?"

"I believe she was only cuddling with the younglings, Sire."

Luke snorted.

Seeing her husbands scandalized expression, even the Queen had to hide a smile behind her hand.

"I also believe that Lord Snoke did not form an alliance with the dragons, but rather captured a few younglings to blackmail their parents into doing his dirty work," Holdo quickly went on.

The king nodded, apparently too stunned to argue further. "Of course you do, General. I don't suppose you'd mind explaining to me how you came to that conclusion though, do you? Just to humor your king," he huffed, and Amilyn did not envy Leia for the lecture she would receive _when_ she came back home.

Amilyn did not concern herself with the word 'if.' One of the few things that Leia and she had in common was that the word 'if' did not exist in their vocabularies. If a job needed to be done, they where going to do it, and they would come back home after.

"I believe Luke may be able to help with that," she said instead and handed the prince the recipe that Leia had enclosed in the letter.

Luke studied it for a moment, an expression of stunned delight ghosting across his face. "I'll be damned."

"What is it, Luke?" his mother asked. She leaned forward expectantly.

"It's not a tea to sooth her nerves, I can tell you that," he said with a low laugh. "I mean, there are ingredients here that don't make any sense, but if I disregard every one that starts or ends with an “L,” then I am left with the components for a spell to break a magic ward of confinement."

"My clever daughter," Breha smiled.

"Can you prepare the spell today?" King Bail asked anxiously.

"It will take me until morning, but I will start right away." He left the room with a small, preoccupied nod in Amilyn's direction.

"So, I take it instead of throwing our army at Lord Snoke's keep, I will have to figure out what I'm supposed to do when my wayward daughter returns to us on the back of a dragon?" the king said with an air resignation that any parent knows only too well.

If Amilyn were to guess, the only alternative to laughing was for him to start tearing his hair out. It was another impulse that she understood only too well, though it was some consolation that she had that effect on Leia about as often as Leia had that effect on her.

"May I suggest buying a few dozen sheep, Sire? Perhaps a cow or two?" 

At least her recommendation made the queen laugh.

 

* * *

 

Leia arrived a few days later, not merely on the back of _one_ dragon, but in the company of half a dozen.

By the time the first one touched down on the training grounds, it seemed as if every single person in the castle had congregated either in the adjacent gardens, behind the windows, or on the balconies of the castle to watch the spectacle.

Using the dragon's smooth, green scales to slide to the ground from her perch behind the first ridge of his raised spinal plates, Leia jumped the last few feet onto the gravel and ran towards a waiting Amilyn with a laugh on her face.

Amilyn kept her arms crossed beneath her chest and tried valiantly to maintain a stern expression, in spite of the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "You're unbelievable."

To her astonishment, Leia didn't even slow down. She planted herself firmly on the inside of Amilyn's personal space and drew her into a passionate kiss.

A sound of surprise escaped the general's throat.

Leia was supposed to marry a Lord of the realm, which was why they had kept their relationship secret. In spite of this, she didn't have the heart to disentangle herself. Her relief to find Leia whole and unharmed was too profound.

They only came up for air when someone cleared their throat loudly right next to them.

Pulling back a little reluctantly, Leia nevertheless threw her arms around her brother. "Thank you for the spell. It worked better than I thought it would."

Luke eyes widened over Leia's shoulder. "Oh?" he asked nervously. "Uhm.. that's– that's good to hear. How well did it work exactly?"

"Oh, well, it was a little temperamental," Leia said. “But I don't think there was anyone in that part of the keep when it exploded."

Luke pressed his lips together, while Amilny swallowed laugh. "I'm– I'm glad to hear that."

The king and queen had finally made their way through the cheering crowd. The queen inclined her head toward the dragon who had born her daughter home. "Thank you, my Lord, for returning her safely to us."

The dragon regarded her curiously for a moment, before he, too, inclined his head. "It was the least we could do after she returned our younglings to us."

Taking a deep breath, King Bail placed his hands on Leia's shoulders and regarded her solemnly. "We have a lot to talk about," he told her with a stern air, but then he relented and crushed her hard against his chest. "I am so glad that you are safely with us again," he whispered into her hair.

"So am I, father."

"You have done a great service to the realm," he continued, raising his voice so everyone could hear him when he stepped back. "What boon would you ask of your king and queen to repay you for this debt."

For the first time since she had arrived, Leia looked apprehensive. "There is one thing I would ask of you," she said uncommonly cautious.

The queen had that knowing smile again. "Name it," she said encouragingly.

"I would ask for a change of the marriage laws," Leia answered, and just like that Amilyn found it hard to breathe.

"You wish to chose your own husband?" the king asked.

Leia took a deep breath, gave him a cheeky grin, and unceremoniously pulled a stunned General Holdo to stand beside her.

"I wish to chose my own wife," she said.

The king, who had apparently not seen them kiss moments before, blinked in surprise, until his wife nudged him with her elbow. "Ah, yes. Of course. By all means, if that's what you want. The general is certainly a good choice."

A cheer rose up among the attentive crowed, and after Leia and Amilyn had accepted well wishes and congratulations alike, and the dragons had been invited to stay for a celebratory feast, Amilyn took Leia aside.

"You know, it is customary to ask the bride first if she actually wants to marry you," she said tartly.

Leia looped her arms around Amilyn's waist, and looked up at her with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "I thought we agreed that there is no such word as 'if.'"

Amilyn held her disapproving expression for two more seconds before she broke and rolled her eyes instead.

"You keep going like that, and my hair will turn gray within a year."

Leia rose up on her toes and pressed a kiss to her lips. "That's alright. We can dye it. I bet lilac looks good on you."

 

 


End file.
